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Lendore Isles
This page may be a Stub or not include some information. For a full article on the topic with citations, please see ' ' at Greyhawkonline.com. The Lendore Isles, as they are now known, were until recently named the Spindrifts. This group of five islands, located some 100 leagues east of the Medegian peninsula, is now a fog-shrouded navigational hazard to all but elf-piloted ships. Located in the midst of the Asperdi-Duxchan chain, most charts show the five islands of the Spindrifts (though some older charts show only four) as the easternmost in the Aerdi Sea. Geography Spindrift Sound itself is navigable, but shipping is menaced by the Scarlet Brotherhood and the activities of a few pirates based on the eastern Medegian coast. Elven vessels are sometimes seen to cross the Aerdi Sea in the direction of Lendore Isle, presumably shipping from secret ports cut beneath the Hestmark Cliffs. A number of elven warships also travel to or from the Lendore Isles as escorts for passenger craft. They will certainly intercept any seagoing craft that manages to bypass the barrier of magical mist that envelops these islands. Elven ships were also sighted farther east on the Solnor by Sea Barons' ships in the late 580s, perhaps exploring or trading with distant elf colonies. Forests * Hills Rivers Marsh * History This group of islands has housed from time immemorial the strongholds of high-elven wizards and lords. They had little contact with humans until the arrival of the legendary Archmage, Lendore, who brought his fellowship out from the lands of the Suel Imperium in anticipation of the Invoked Devastation. Fleeing the impending disaster, the wizard and his band journeyed to the easternmost shores of Oerik, then further still, until they came at last to the Spindrift Isles. The Invoked Devastation occurred, as Lendore knew it must, but it was followed by a catastrophe he had not foreseen: the Rain of Colorless Fire and the destruction of the empire. In the years that followed, the wizard and his followers lived in peace with the elves, while elsewhere in the Flanaess, the Suloise were being pushed out of habitable lands by the conquering Oerid. In time, Lendore persuaded the elves to cede him the southern island, that he might make a refuge of it for his followers and kin. Only a few families of Suel made this their home while Lendore ruled, but in the years after his passing, their population slowly grew. Lo Reltarma became the capital of the island, and its ruling Council of Seven maintained close ties with the high elves' Council of Five in the northern islands. The peoples of the northern and southern isles did not freely mix, but both communities recognized the benefits of unity in opposition to the warlike Aerdi and the piratical Suel of the southern islands. Whenever seriously threatened by their rapacious neighbors, the heirs of Lendore would remember his promise of an aerial sanctuary, and gather at the Gate of Glass outside Lo Reltarma. One of Lendore's last prophecies had promised his appearance there, before the Final Calamity overtook the island. In time, the Gate of Glass became something of a shrine that Lendorians would visit in times of crisis, or in memory of crises averted, and the citizens of Lo Reltarma would gather here on the last day of each year to celebrate their ancestor's foresight. For centuries the Spindrift Isles maintained their independence from all foreign powers, both through strength and through cunning. Perhaps the Scarlet Brotherhood made incursions into the Council of Seven in the years leading up to the Greyhawk Wars, but they were given no time to take advantage of their gains before the high elves took control of Lendore Isle. Elves have always been plagued with mysticism, and those of the Spindrifts had finally succumbed to the cult of Sehanine. The Final Calamity, it seemed, had arrived. It was a bloodless revolution, yet catastrophic for the inhabitants of Lendore Isle. They were informed that they must be exiled from the only home they had ever known, in order for the Spindrifts to serve as high elven holy ground. The high elves used powerful phantasms to overcome strong resistance, and threats of imprisonment persuaded most others to cooperate. The humans were given three days to prepare for their removal from the island. In that time, perhaps half of Lo Reltarma's population escaped through the Gate of Glass before the elves could deactivate it; the rest were either exiled to the mainland, the Sea Barons' isles, or other local regions, or were among the few allowed to remain as workers in Lo Reltarma. In the years since the Greyhawk Wars, some of the surviving exiles have joined together with half-elven Elven ship from the Lendore Isles captains on the Medegian coast. It is an open secret that they are smugglers, willing to transport any cargo for a price. Several of these ships secretly accompanied the flotilla of the Sea Barons in their voyage over the Solnor in 586-589 CY. The Spindrift exiles were thought to be searching for the last members of the Council of Five, who had fled across the waves when the clerics of Sehanine usurped their authority. It is not clear what benefit they seek by contacting their deposed leaders, but the half-elves clearly wish to return to their birthplace and free it of the magical affliction of Sehanine. Population The primary inhabitants of the Lendore Isles are the olve, with a small number of half-elves scattered throughout the islands. Most half-elves left in protest following the subjugation of Lendore Isle; those that remain, along with the human menials who are permitted to stay, now form a protected underclass of the elven-dominated society. Since they are unable to acquire the use of Lendorian Elven, they are required to keep silent in all public places, unless addressed by an elf directly. The government and society are otherwise entirely elven, led by the cult of Sehanine. Religion Languages Government Law and Justice Culture Military Resources Foreign Relations Other Locations: * References